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听 听 听 听 听 听 The temperature was nice and warm for Canora Minor Ball Day on June 3, but the howling wind was another story, making every pop-up and fly ball an adventure into the unknown for fielders, no matter what the age group.
听听听听听听听听听听听 In spite of the wind, this was the best Canora Minor Ball Day in years, said Michelle Hembling, vice-president of Canora Minor Baseball.
听听听听听听听听听听听 The day involved seven Canora teams: T-Ball, Junior Rookie, Rookie, Mosquito Black, Mosquito Red, Mosquito White and Bantam. During Minor Ball Day, these teams played a total of nine games against teams from Norquay, Kamsack, Invermay and Preeceville.
听听听听听听听听听听听 Special recognition went to these out-of-town teams and their coaches for doing their part to help make this day so successful.
T-ball
听听听听听听听听听听听 The T-ball game was great despite the strong winds, said Jessee Boulanger, Canora coach. Both Canora and Invermay teams played very well, Boulanger said. He appreciated the efforts of the Invermay team in traveling to Canora and all the spectators who came to watch and support the kids.
Junior Rookie
听听听听听听听听听听听 On minor ball day the children on the Junior Rookie team were excited to show off their skills to family and friends as they played against teams from Norquay and Invermay, said Stacey Vangen, coach. They showed great sportsmanship and readiness to learn.听
听听听听听听听听听听听 This year the junior Rookie team, coached by Vangen, was comprised of 13 Kindergarten students.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淲e have been very pleased to utilize the Rally Cap Program to teach the children the fundamentals of baseball. The children have grown together as a team and have greatly improved in their abilities to bat with a parent pitching, catching and fielding balls, as well as how to get an opposing player out,鈥� said Vangen.
听听听听听听听听听听听 听Team members were: Cayden and Chloe Doogan, Mya Dutchak, Colby Fast, Zarin Godhe, Kasen Heshka, Sophia Hvidston, Reid Kitchen, Knox and Kruz Oswald, Mason Reine, Cameron Sznerch, and Wade Vangen.听
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Rookie
听听听听听听听听听听听 The 2017 baseball season was a fun and challenging one for the Canora Rookies, said coach Nathan Dutchak. The team ranged in experience from first time ball players to others who have been in the ball program for a couple seasons.
听听听听听听听听听听听 The children started by focusing on the basic elements of the game and then got to put them to use in games against teams from Norquay and Kamsack, said Dutchak. The group played well in both games and also had a ton of fun while playing. The team had one more game coming up against Preeceville. I would like to thank the parents that stepped up and assisted with teaching the group this year.
Mosquito Black
听听听听听听听听听听听 The Canora Mosquito Black team played Preeceville on Minor Ball Day and won 13-2, said Jennifer Sleeva, assistant coach.听
听听听听听听听听听听听 The team earned the win through excellent pitching, strong at-bats, and some smart plays in the field. The pitchers for the game were Hunter Lamb, Ty Sleeva, and Cody Vangen.听
听听听听听听听听听听听 The Mosquito Black鈥檚 record so far this season is six wins and one loss with four games left to go.听 The coach for the Black team is Graham Lamb.
Mosquito Red
听听听听听听听听听听听 The Canora Mosquito Red team faced Preeceville on Minor Ball Day and went down to defeat by the score of 9-4, said Kelly MacTavish, coach.
听听听听听听听听听听听 In spite of the loss, the team got a strong effort on the mound from Briel Beblow, who pitched well for several innings.
听听听听听听听听听听听 On the offensive side of the game, Nate Wallace smacked a long home run, and Methyl Trask also swung the bat well, MacTavish said.
Mosquito White
听听听听听听听听听听听 The Mosquito White team played to a hotly contested 14-14 tie game against Preeceville on Minor Ball Day, said Greg Smith, coach.
听听听听听听听听听听听 Rylan Bletsky pitched the first three innings while Lucien Carlson was the catcher, said Smith. Other Canora pitchers during the game included Linden Roebuck, Tucker Mydonick, Cooper Kraynick, and Brayden Goetzinger. Cale Smith and Colton Bletsky also spent time at the catcher position.
听听听听听听听听听听听 Cole Marcinkoski hit a home run and came very close to hitting a second.听
听听听听听听听听听听听 On defence, Logan Sznerch and Alaina Roebuck were very steady at third and second base respectively. Overall, coach Smith said he was pleased.
听听听听听听听听听听听 "I was very proud of how our team played today. We had some good pitching and fielding on defence. Offensively we were hitting the ball well and running the bases hard. We have some areas to work on, but overall I am very happy with how we have progressed as a team, he said."
Bantam
听听听听听听听听听听听 The Canora Bantam Reds played a spirited game against Invermay on Canora Minor Ball Day on June 3, said Terry Wilson, coach.
听听听听听听听听听听听 The Reds scored two runs in the first inning to take a two-to-one lead. A back-and-forth battle ensued and the game was tied at six after six innings. Canora ran out of steam in the final inning when they also gave up five runs and were unable to generate any offence.
听听听听听听听听听听听 The final score of 11-6 did not represent the very close contest. Brenden Landstad had an excellent start for Canora, and pitched into the fifth inning, said Wilson. The offence was spread around with six different Reds scoring runs. 听
听听听听听听听听听听听 The Reds either tied or lost every game this year in the last inning except one, often against older competitors. The coaches are very pleased with the team鈥檚 progress and are looking forward to continued improvement over the coming weeks.
